tommy the cat ...can you play it?

is there anyone that can play it on tb? all the good players say its not very hard but yet no one sounds even close. only les can do this? i dont think so. its alot of dead notes? anyone have correct tab for this? is there a secret to playing this song? yes

Well, it really isn't all that hard to play once you get the whole dead note deal down and his technique down a bit. No one is going to sound like Les except Les. We all can only play our own versions of the song, Les is just insanely creative(no primus bashing on me)

There was a transcription of it in Bass Guitar's first issue, I think. IIRC, it's also the first publicly available, ACCURATE tab of it. Hence, yes, a lot of people can probably play it if they had that tab.

I, however, have no interest in learning it, nor do I care enough to learn Les's technique to play this song. The technique associated with it (left handed slapping, IIRC) is more than esoteric enough that I just have no interest in it whatsoever.

I've never seen a tab that quite seemed right, nor heard a recording of anyone else doing it that sounded right. I'm not sure if I've seen the Bass Guitar tab for it though.

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They had a flood of people writing in saying "Thanks for the tab, it actually sounds right when I play it now!" etc. I've never tried it, nor do I own the issue, but from those letters and the many other comments I've seen since then, I'd say it sounds more accurate than most internet tabs.

Here's a tab for a 4-string version of the main riff. This is 99% accurate. I learned the song from the official Seas of Cheese book, and made this tab from memory so it's accurate but might be a LITTLE bit off. Just the lower muted/slap notes can be played a million different ways and still sound right, so it might not be perfect but it'll still sound great.
The only major difference is that he uses a 6 string, but I explain that later. It's exactly how I play it and it sounds fine.

Like I said, Les plays it with a 6 string, so where you play the 4th fret chord on the D and G strings, it should be a 4th higher on the G and C strings (same frets).
If you're fast enough, you can play it correctly by moving the same chord to the 9th fret on the D and G strings, that way you play the exact same thing Les does, it's just hard to make it sound clean.
You can make any number of variations to it once you figure it out. It's a fun tune to play and there's lots of room for small changes and funky little fills. Practice this tab, then have fun.

Like everyone else said, once you figure it out and play it once, it's like riding a bike. It's easy as hell, it just sounds hard. You just gotta have a quick thumb.

There isn't a single completely accurate tab of it...I learned it by listening to it a few times.

It isn't really very hard; there are much harder Claypool songs: Hamburger Train, Jellikit, Prelude to Fear, the C2B3 stuff, etc.

For more of a challenge, try playing the album version without using the high C string...I have to, as i'm a 5 string player.

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Jellikit is easy as hell! That was one of the first Primus songs I learned to play.
Prelude to Fear isn't Primus, it's Sausage Great song though.
You want a hard Primus song, try "Is It Luck?" or "American Life".

And you say there isn't a single accurate tab?? Here's the most accurate tab you can get. I'm copying this straight out of the Seas of Cheese book. The only difference is that I'm writing it for a 4 string with the exact same notes just moved to the G and D strings:
--9-----------------------------------------------
--9--------------3-h-5-----5-------5-----5-----0-
--------------------------------------------------
-----0--3--3--x---------5------4------3-----0----

That's just the main riff. There's too many fills and variations to tab them out now. When I play it, usually those low slapped notes on the E strings either sound wrong even though the official book says their right, so I sometimes just use muted notes instead.
If that 9/9 chord is too far away for you to make the jump cleanly, just replace it with the 4th fret of G and D strings, it sounds just as good.

Jellikit is easy as hell! That was one of the first Primus songs I learned to play.
Prelude to Fear isn't Primus, it's Sausage Great song though.
You want a hard Primus song, try "Is It Luck?" or "American Life".

And you say there isn't a single accurate tab?? Here's the most accurate tab you can get. I'm copying this straight out of the Seas of Cheese book. The only difference is that I'm writing it for a 4 string with the exact same notes just moved to the G and D strings:
--9-----------------------------------------------
--9--------------3-h-5-----5-------5-----5-----0-
--------------------------------------------------
-----0--3--3--x---------5------4------3-----0----

That's just the main riff. There's too many fills and variations to tab them out now. When I play it, usually those low slapped notes on the E strings either sound wrong even though the official book says their right, so I sometimes just use muted notes instead.
If that 9/9 chord is too far away for you to make the jump cleanly, just replace it with the 4th fret of G and D strings, it sounds just as good.

Click to expand...

A few things to say:

I know Prelude to Fear isn't primus, but I was talking about all Claypool songs.

That tab is the most accurate available, but it's still a little off. If you watch the music video, you'll see that he bounces his thumb on the E string and actually plays more notes than what's on the tab.

You're right about Is It Luck, that's damn hard.

Funny you should say that about American Life, it was one of the first Primus songs I learned how to play.